Month: May 2019

Who are these poor in spirit? Are they folks with low self-esteem? Perhaps those who never stand up for their own rights. Maybe this refers to ones who can never quite make a go of life. Oh–Oh–I know, this is the person who sings in church and then will not accept praise, but diverts it by saying, it wasn’t me, it was Jesus. (I always thought Jesus could sing better than that?!)

No, the poor in spirit over whom the Lord speaks blessing realize that before God they have nothing to offer. Without God, they bring nothing to the table. They have no hope for any future if God does not take their part.

In Psalm 51 David, (God’s favorite) in his prayer of repentance over his failing with Bathsheba, states,

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. – Psalm 51:17

James says,

But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.” – James 4:6

The poor in spirit see their need for redemption. Without this vision, this revelation, you will never get right with God.

For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite. – Isaiah 57:15

It is a wonderful thing, to grow up in a Christian family. You have a chance to live a good life and never make those huge mistakes that can hurt you so badly, and cost you so dearly. However, there is a danger of becoming familiar with the Holy, and missing the fact that you need a Savior. This was my testimony. I was born and raised in a church setting for all my growing up years but never got serious about God until at age 25. The Holy Spirit opened my eyes to my own sin and my need for a savior. It changed my life. No longer satisfied to be a good kid, Jesus baptized me in His fire and I am forever changed.

There is no other way into the kingdom of heaven save a broken and contrite heart.

You cannot be born into it, you cannot be raised into it, and you cannot memorize enough scripture, or pray enough prayers. It’s not even about believing the right facts about Jesus. You can believe that Jesus is the Son of God and still die in your sin. You can believe that He died on the cross for you and never know the life He offers. You can believe that He rose from the dead and still die and spend an eternity in hell.

Until you see your own spiritual deadness and take hold of Jesus as your Lord, Master, King, and Boss you cannot enter into His kingdom. He is the only way. It is not about believing the right facts or praying the magic words. It is about exchanging your life for His.

It’s another great day to worship our Father. Here’s a great song from Hillsong that I think you’ll love.

Blessings

There’s a grace when the heart is under fire
Another way when the walls are closing in
And when I look at the space between
Where I used to be and this reckoning
I know I will never be alone

There was another in the fire

Standing next to me
There was another in the waters
Holding back the seas
And should I ever need reminding
Of how I’ve been set free
There is a cross that bears the burden
Where another died for me
There is another in the fire

All my debt left for dead beneath the waters
I’m no longer a slave to my sin anymore
And should I fall in the space between
What remains of me and this reckoning
Either way I won’t bow to the things of this world
And I know I will never be alone

There is another in the fire
Standing next to me
There is another in the waters
Holding back the seas
And should I ever need reminding
What power set me free
There is a grave that holds no body
And now that power lives in me
There is another in the fire, oh
There is another in the fire, whoa
There is another in the fire, whoa
There is another in the fire, oh
I can see

And I can see the light in the darkness
As the darkness bows to Him
I can hear the roar in the heavens
As the space between wears thin
I can feel the ground shake beneath us
As the prison walls cave in
Nothing stands between us
Nothing stands between us

There is no other name but the name that is Jesus
He who was and still is, and will be through it all
So come what may in the space between
All the things unseen and this reckoning
And I know I will never be alone
And I know I will never be alone

There’ll be another in the fire
Standing next to me
There’ll be another in the waters
Holding back the seas
And should I ever need reminding
How good You’ve been to me
I’ll count the joy come every battle
‘Cause I know that’s where You’ll be
I can see the light

And I can see the light in the darkness
As the darkness bows to Him
I can hear the roar in the heavens
As the space between wears thin
I can feel the ground shake beneath us
As the prison walls cave in
Nothing stands between us
Nothing stands between

There’ll be another in the fire
Standing next to me
There’ll be another in the waters
Holding back the seas
And should I ever need reminding
How good You’ve been to me
I’ll count the joy come every battle
‘Cause I know that’s where You’ll be

Count the joy come every battle
‘Cause I know that’s where You’ll be
I’ll count the joy come every battle
‘Cause I know that’s where You’ll be, sing it again
I’ll count the joy come every battle
‘Cause I know that’s where You’ll be
I’ll count the joy come every battle
‘Cause I know that’s where You’ll be

Here, at the beginning of chapter 3 of Hebrews, we see the writer reminding us who we are in Christ. Though this letter is full of warnings, though it takes us by the shoulders and shakes us from time to time, in the end, the writer wants us to know who we are.

Holy–a word usually reserved for God, but the Holy Spirit wants you to know that through Christ’s work on the cross and His work in your spirit, you are holy. You are set apart.

One thing about the word holy that we miss sometimes. We tend to contrast holy with wretched, or miserable, but in truth, the opposite of holy is common–ordinary–every day.

My wife has some dishes in a china cabinet that belonged to her grandmother. On any random Tuesday in May, we’re eating off Correll. But there is a Thursday that comes up in November and we eat off Grandma’s good china. After dinner, it’s hand washed and carefully placed back in the china cabinet for the next special occasion.

The china is holy, set apart for a specific calling.

And that’s what’s going on here.

We are God’s good china, and He has a calling for each of us.

But in God’s economy, He puts out the good china every day, for everyone to see.

God created us each with specific gifts and talents that fit our calling in the body of Christ. Paul uses this image of a body, and how each part fulfills a specific function.

One big problem in the Church world is this eighty-twenty thing that everyone seems to notice.

They say (and clearly they know) that in the average church, eighty percent of the work is done by 20 percent of the people.

Before we all go off angry at the eighty percent of folks who aren’t pulling their weight, let’s realize in God’s actual calling, not all are set apart for a job in the church as usher or greeter. Some are called into ministry in the world, outside the church walls. Frankly, most have callings outside the church, with the exception of the full-time staff, and I’m not even sure it’s OK to give them a pass on extra-church ministry.

But what can be observed is that eighty percent (more or less) of churchgoers are simply attendees, and don’t participate in ministry of any kind, at any time, anywhere.

Assuming they know Christ at all, they are effectively good china that NEVER comes out of the china cabinet. They are just for show. They miss their heavenly calling and go through life unfulfilled and missing God’s best for them.

If you find yourself in the china cabinet, I hope your asking, “how do I get out there on the table?”

I can’t tell you what you are called to do. But this I can tell you for sure. It’s God’s will for you to know. And it’s God will for you to be a dirty dish at the end of each day, ready for God to hand wash you and get you ready for use tomorrow.

If you start serving, maybe in church, maybe in a para-church kind of gig, if you’ll get moving, God will steer you into your destiny.

Shake off the fear of getting involved. Stir yourself and ask God where to start. It’s His will to use you, and He promised if we asked for wisdom He’d give it without reprisal.

He said, “Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him. – Matthew 9:24

What’s dead in your life today?

Jesus walked into the house of a man whose daughter had just died. This is what He found.

When Jesus came into the official’s house, and saw the flute-players and the crowd in noisy disorder,– Matthew 9:23

The pipers piped, the mourners mourned, the weepers wept.

Yet Jesus’ words were not about the problem. He didn’t stand in line to hug the mourning mother or listen to the 500th retelling of that tragic morning when, after weeks of fighting disease, or months of steady decline, or suddenly for no apparent reason, they found their daughter had stopped breathing.

He didn’t sit down in front of the casket and weep.

He didn’t look at a memorial of the girl’s life.

He stepped in and changed the atmosphere.

And not just by walking in.

Sometimes that works. A man or woman full of the Spirit of God can walk into a room and just their presence changed the room. But this time, Jesus had to physically change the atmosphere.

It’s not unlike after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He drove off the money changers and then healed the sick. Jesus was not afraid to change the environment, to drive off the things that undermine faith.

He said, “Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him. But when the crowd had been sent out, He entered and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. – Matthew 9:24-25

As I read this, the Lord put marriages in my heart, though the truth is relevant for other circumstances too.

Is your marriage dead or in need of healing?

You need to begin to speak life into it.

You need to drive off any trappings of death.

You need to shut down any outside voices speaking death your marriage. I don’t care if it’s your mother or father, your best friend or oldest confidant. If they are throwing fuel on the funeral pier of your relationship they are not helping.

I was at a wedding once where the minister address all the congregation on both sides of the aisle.

You who stand here today to witness this wedding, are entering into covenant to stand behind this union. As God makes these two–one, you must commit to supporting that one.. When one of these two come to you complaining about their spouse, you remind them of love, you speak life to the one new flesh. When you stand with one against the other you “tear asunder” that which “God has joined together.”

Begin to speak out loud those things that are not as though they were.

Then, when the sound of death has been stilled, take that which seems dead by the hand.

This is a rebroadcast of my study in the Song of Songs. For over a year back in 2012 I posted these weekly. Since they have all be lost with my old site, I’m going to start re-publishing these on Saturdays.

They will be pretty much in their original form, though I reserve the right to update and tweak, and perhaps even add a post here and there.

I pray this study blesses you as much as it did me.

So – here we go…

Song of Songs Saturday (Here’s why)

A few years back I spent a couple years studying the Song of Songs. Initially inspired by Mike Bickel’s 1998 twenty 1 hour teachings (which he updated in 2007 to twenty-four – 45-minute teachings) I took up his challenge to live in this Song for a while. There is a link below to Mike’s web site where you can download the teachings and the notes that go with it. I would highly recommend throwing this on your favorite audio device and giving it a listen. It will change the way you think about EVERYTHING!

I got my hands on a few other books and started living in the Song of Songs for pretty much both devotional and study time. I read a number of books with different approaches to the Song, and it started to flavor everything I did.

When I started in the Song, it did not seem very relevant. But in short order, I found that every conversation I had somehow related back to the Song. This came as a surprise to me.

How does this relate to the Red Letters (my theme for this blog) you might ask. As you will see, if you come back for weekly installments, Jesus is one of the 2 main characters of the Song. At least that’s the approach I will be taking. It is not by any means the only approach, but I like it best.

So stop by on Saturday mornings for the next year or so, and walk through this beautiful love story with me.

See you next week!

Ben

Here’s a link to Mike Bickle’s 2007 series in audio or video. Song of Songs

Like this:

But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. “But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” – Matthew 9:12-13 NASB

What’s with the bit in the middle? The surrounds of this quote go together, but what’s this middle piece about?

“But go learn what this means.”

Think about the scene for a minute.

The boys, (Jesus’ disciples,) under attack from the local neighborhood Pharisees, about the company Jesus is keeping. They give Jesus the “help” signal, so He gets up from His place at the table and presses back.

If the comments about the physician were not enough, He puts them in their place with a bit of homework.

Jesus schools the teachers–strike that–professors–of the day.

You ask my boys why I’m hanging with tax-collectors and sinners.

I ask you, why have you not yet learned that God is not interested in your bloody sacrifices to cover up your indifference to those He loves.

As Jesus looks in the faces of these Pharisees, He remembers the Fathers frustration with the religious centuries back when Isaiah said for Him:

“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD.

“I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.

“When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?

“Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies– I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.

“I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.

“So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. – Isaiah 1:11-15 NASB

Why is the God who put all this in motion so frustrated, so angry, about the sacrifices of His people?

Because they have treated the sacrifice as the go-to, rather than walking in God’s ways, they just pay the fines. They don’t learn to love (that is, after all, what God is looking for) but continue to separate themselves from the ones who most need what they are supposed to have. A connection to God. They are supposed to be the bridges between God and man. They were supposed to help the people love God and teach them how to walk in His ways.

Instead, they exploit their sheep for money, or power, or fame, and then snub them as if they are lesser beings.

So Jesus hears the Pharisees deriding the boys for His choice of dinner mates, and it comes into clear relief. God cares about these people. They are sick and in need a physician, so God sent His word and healed them.

But you, you who should be putting salve on their wounds won’t even be seen with them. You keep them at arm’s length. You hate this riff-raff.

Go learn what this means, compassion not sacrifice.

Leave your gift at the altar and be reconciled.

When you stand praying, forgive.

Make the relationships right, love your neighbor, and you won’t need the blood of bulls and lambs for the forgiveness of your sins.

Care for the needy, the widows, the orphans.

Instead of looking at your neighbor as unworthy, and bringing your spotless lamb to be slaughtered for your sin, butcher the lamb and share it with your neighbor and be clean.

Before we dig into what are commonly called the Beatitudes, I want to share with you something off the charts about the word “Blessed.” We toss this word around pretty carelessly. If someone sneezes we say “Bless you!” or if we are really spiritual we might say “Ga bless you!” But this Greek word “Blessed” is pregnant with meaning. If you read the beatitudes in the Amplified Bible you will see the word “Blessed” rendered 14 different ways in these 8 statements.

» Happy
» Blessed
» To be envied
» Spiritually prosperous
» With life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions
» Enviably happy
» With a happiness produced by the experience of God’s favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His matchless grace
» Blithesome (Who knows what that means in this day and age – but you get the idea.)
» Joyous
» Fortunate
» In that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation
» Enviably fortunate
» Possessing the happiness produced by the experience of God’s favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His grace, regardless of their outward conditions
» Enjoying enviable happiness
» In the state in which the born-again child of God enjoys and finds satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of his outward conditions

Clearly, a blessing is much more than a greeting, much more than kind wishes. And this is especially true when it is God doing the blessing.

A blessing from God holds Assignment, Ability, and Authority. I call these the three As of Blessing. Far from being a wish for good luck, a blessing has in it vision, power, and rights and permissions needed to carry it out. We treat our words very lightly these days and can blow off the power of words. God spoke the worlds into being with words! With this same powerful commodity, we make thoughtless comments that hurt others or destroy our own confidence. Consider the power of blessing:

Creation:

And God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. ~ Genesis 1:28-31

Notice that after He created, He blessed man. This blessing holds in it His expectation for man. “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it.” It is both a blessing and a commission! But God never expects from us that which is too much for us. He never puts on us burdens He hasn’t prepared us for.

When God gives an assignment it’s much more than an errand to run. Think about Nehemiah. When the king sent him to rebuild the walls of the city, he gave him his blessing and assigned to him the resources. Since the king ordered the rehab of Jerusalem His authority came with it. Provisions provided and protection on all sides came too.

God’s blessing grants authority. When God told Adam to subdue the earth, God was telling Adam that he had the authority to rule the earth. God placed all creation in subjection to Adam at that moment. God handed Adam all authority needed to rule and subdue.

God’s blessing reveals ability. It would be unreasonable for God to expect us to subdue the earth if we did not have the capacity. This blessing not only reveals our calling, but it gives assurance that He stands with us. He will back us up with power. Adam could fulfill all that God blessed him to do.

As we meditate on the Beatitudes, God’s unveils His plan for us. We receive assignments and authority and assurance of the ability to be and do that for which we were created.

What follows is a path leading from a man on the street, falling through life, to son or daughter of the King, exercising authority and ability carrying out His assignment.

Apostle. Not an office we associate with Jesus too often. But here in Hebrews, we see the writer calls Jesus the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. For the record, it’s the only reference to Jesus as an apostle unless you take his own words in John 13

“Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. – John 13:16

What is an Apostle? (I’m actually going to pass on this one for today. Perhaps another day we’ll come back and probe this office a bit, but for today, just the word, and a surprise appearance from that old favorite, Isaiah)

In it’s most basic form, it means sent one or messenger.

I can’t help but when I think about Jesus’ sending, I go to Isaiah 6. This is one of those iconic passages. It’s in my top 10 for sure. I fell in love with it when I heard Leonard Ravenhill preach his wonderful sermon, “Woe, Lo, Go.” This famous sermon (which you can hear for yourself here) presses the point, that anyone confronted with the holiness of God and cleansed at His altar cannot help but take up his commission among God’s sent ones.

I do have a theory about this chapter, that I have shared here before, but I want to pose it again here.

You’re likely familiar with the scene (if not you can catch up quickly here, it’s only 7 verses.) Isaiah sees the throne room of the Father and falls down before him, seeing in the Lord’s stark holiness a contrast to his own wickedness. Side thought: The first five chapters of Isaiah’s ministry stand as Spirit breathed scripture. And yet, Isaiah experiences an encounter with God in all His holiness and it wrecks him.

Like this:

Are you looking for a good summer read? Today I want to recommend a wonderful book. My dear blogging friend Felecia Clarke authored a wonderful memoir. Here’s my Amazon Review – 5 stars all the way!

I just finished reading Felecia Clarke’s wonderful memoir, Are You Ready? Clarke’s mastery of language brings her life to life in your hands. Her storytelling style often had me look up to ask a question or probe an event as if she was sitting in the room with me.

Her descriptions of her childhood in Connecticut grabbed me. Through the clarity of her prose and vivid imagery I could almost smell the fresh outdoors and musty church basements.

Her life takes many twists and turns which had me cheering and gasping. I laughed out loud, fretted for her safety, held my breath, and shed a few tears.

There are a number of asides in the midst of the story where Clarke steps back and ponders a relationship or a choice or a circumstance beyond her control adding a layer to the narrative that draws the reader deeper into her mind and heart.

By the end of the story, you feel as though you’ve been friends with the Felecia for a lifetime.

Here’s the Amazon Blurb:

Believing herself to be a Christian didn’t stop Felecia from spending years running away from God. She followed her own brand of spiritualism, walking a strange and treacherous road through a maze of sex and drugs, living as she liked. Until her world came crashing down. When she lost everything, she realized she had nowhere else to turn but to God . . . and just in the nick of time. Felecia discovered God had never left her side and had been asking all along, “Are You Ready?” She never knew that she needed a Savior, and she finally answered “Yes!” to His definitive question. In this spiritual, coming-of-age memoir, Felecia delights with humor and sorrow, sharing the best and worst of her life and how God grew her faith so she could survive trials she would face and an on-going fight with cancer.

And finally “About the author – from Felecia’s Author page on Amazon.

About Felecia Clarke

Felecia Clarke likes to say she’s traveled over 150,000 miles in her life, the early years courtesy of her Marine Captain Dad. From North Carolina, to Florida, California, Illinois, New York, and Connecticut; she couldn’t shake the wanderlust and moved on to Colorado, Arizona, and back to Southern Florida, where she currently resides. In the meantime she traveled to over ten countries, some for work but mostly for fun.

Losing her job in the financial downturn of 2008 and the despair of not being able to find another, led her straight back into the arms of God. Her first book, “Are You Ready?” is a result of God’s magnificent mercy and grace. Felecia was finally able to see that God had never left her–even though she had left Him; and had a plan for her all along.